The Dark Inside
by NotACreeperWriter
Summary: Gray has a secret, one not even Ur and Lyon knew about, and he intends to keep it a secret. However, when a new Dark Guild begins threatening Fairy Tail, will Gray be forced to reveal what he's tried so hard to keep hidden? And what does Lyon have to do with any of this? Lyon/Gray mainly. Rating will go up in future chapters.
1. Prologue

Gray Fullbuster seemed pretty straight forward at first. He was an Ice mage with a stripping habit, not much was kept hidden. Granted, he wasn't to comfortable talking about his past, but after the events of Galuna Island, he finally opened up to the rest of the guild. On the day he finally told everyone about what happened; about his home being destroyed, Deliora, Ur's sacrifice, Lyon's actions, there wasn't a dry eye in the guildhall.

Save for Gray's, but with his tightly clenched fists and the slight tremble to his body, they could tell he was forcing himself to remain calm, he'd cried enough. It had been Mira that finally approached him, pulling the raven-haired male into her arms and just holding him. And her heart broke at his soft, shuddering intake of breath as a few tears finally slipped down his cheeks. But other than his previously hidden past, Gray seemed like he didn't keep too many secrets.

But he did. Gray had one secret that he kept tightly guarded. So well hidden that not even Lyon and Ur knew about it. He intended to keep it that way, his own little secret that no one else knew about. Sure, he gave small hints to it, let the rumors fly about what he was hiding, just for fun, but he'd never let anyone know.

He couldn't let anyone know, that he wasn't human.


	2. Wolf

A loud crash, followed by an angry roar as fire and metal collided. Natsu Dragneel had challenged his fellow Dragon Slayer, Gajeel Redfox, to a fight, and the Iron Dragon Slayer wasn't one to turn down such a tempting offer. Bets were made and the fight began, both slayers giving it their all. Gray watched from the sidelines, not really interested in the fight. He was more interested in why the hell his lighter was missing.

An unlit cigarette was clamped between his teeth, and he dug through his pockets for the damned thing, before giving up with a sigh. He must have forgotten it at home. Almost as soon as he gave up, an off shoot of Natsu's fire caught a tree near Gray, and with a shrug, he used it to light his cigarette, before icing the flame over to put it out. Taking a long drag, Gray turned his attention to the fight with a smirk.

"Hey Gajeel! Don't beat him to badly, leave some for me!" He called out, and the Large man responded with a loud "Gihihihi! No promises!" Before punching Natsu in the face before the other dragon slayer could turn his anger on Gray. The ice mage chuckled, taking another drag off his cigarette.

"Do you always have to antagonize him?" Lucy groaned from the other side of the tree Gray was leaning on. "And I thought you said you'd quit smoking."

"What can I say, flame-brain's just easy to rile up." Gray shrugged, flicking the ash off the end of the cigarette. "And I said I'm in the process of quitting, I've cut down to two a day."

"You went through a whole pack three days ago"

"I was stressed three days ago."

Lucy sighed. "Gray…."

"Hey I think the fight's almost over." Gray was quick to change the subject. He knew she was just worried, but if he wanted to fill his body with toxins, he was gonna fill his damn body with toxin's. Though, sure enough, as he and the Celestial Mage turned back to the fight, Nastu was finally knocked down and Gajeel placed a foot on his back, 'Gihihi'ing while Natsu raged.

Gray took a final drag off his cigarette, before dropping it and snuffing it out with his heel, heading back into the guild after Cana gave him his winnings. Lucy just sighed and went to help Natsu, rolling her eyes at Gajeel's triumphant laughter.

Said Iron Dragon slayer could also see a certain blue haired bookworm collecting her winnings from Cana, and he grinned.

It wasn't long before everyone was back in the guild hall, laughing and talking, while Lucy attempted to cheer up a grumping Natsu. Gray leaned his head on his hand, sighing. He felt restless, like he needed to just, run. Run and run until he couldn't anymore. He tried to push the feeling back, but it was still there, tingling just beneath his skin….. He needed to take a job, he needed to DO something.

"G-Gray-sama! Your clothes!" Juvia's face broke him out of his thoughts, and Gray looked down to find that he had, indeed, stripped his clothes off at some point. He cursed, ignoring Juvia's red face and the way she swooned as he pulled his clothes back on. Natsu laughed.

"Hey, maybe if you get lucky, Juvia'll pay ya for a private show!" The pink haired menace grinned.

"Don't give her any ideas bonehead." Huffed the ice mage, already seeing the blue haired Girl's face get redder as she stuttered out what sounded like "Gray-sama" and "Private show?", Before a passing Mira had to catch her to keep her from hitting her head on the floor when Juvia fainted.

Gray sighed heavily, heading over to the request board and looking them over. Nothing looked good enough to help him with this restlessness. Damn it! He huffed, fingers itching to reach for his pack of cigarettes instead, but he stopped himself. He was trying to quit. Gray flopped back onto a bench, putting his head on the table with a soft groan.

Just as he was about to sit up again, the doors to the guild swung open. He looked up, as a few others, and Gray's eyes widened at what he saw.

Freed Justine limped into the guildhall, blood dripping from a wound on his face, rolling dow his chin and falling onto the blood stained collar of his shirt. His clothes were tattered, Jacket torn and shirt soaked with blood. His usually neat and smooth green hair was tangled and clumped with dried blood, and there were fresh bruises around his neck, like someone had been chocking him. The injured runes mage teetered, looking at the room with his visable eye, gaze glassy and unfocused. The word Wolf passed through his lips, before he stummbled, falling to the floor with a dull thud.

Gray's blood ran cold. Carved into the side of the green haired male's face, was the image of a wolf howling.


	3. Howl

It had only been a scouting mission. Freed had gone on a scouting mission and had come back looking like that. The guild was shocked, whispered questions of "what happened" And "who did this" Could be heard. There was no news on Freed's condition, And there were a few people watching the infirmary doors nervously.

Sparks jumped across the railing of the second floor, and everyone knew there was a fuming Laxus up there. The other Dragon slayers, even little Wendy, seemed to understand. Laxus had been enraged when he learned Freed was hurt, and it had taken Gajeel, Natsu, and Erza to hold him back from the infirmary, though Natsu and Gajeel were reluctant to do so. They knew that was Laxus' mate in there.

It seemed like ages before the doctor finally came out. And a weight seemed to lift off the guild when they were told Freed would be alright. This time no one stopped Laxus from going in.

Makarov, despite the good news, still looked grim.

"Master? What's wrong?" Mira questioned softly.

"That mark on Freed's face… I've seen it before…." He replied. Gray glanced over. A howling wolf…. it was familiar…. He shuddered, it filled him with an odd sense of dread… He got up, mumbling that he needed some air, and headed out to wander the streets.

Wolf. Wolf. Wolf. Wolf….

Damn it! It was almost like Freed knew…. No, of course he didn't… Gray pulled out a cigarette, before pausing when he remembered he didn't have his lighter. He sighed deeply, putting the cigarette between his teeth anyway and stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked.

Wolf Wolf Wolf

Gray stopped, leaning on a wall with a groan. Dammit…. He closed his eyes. This wasn't good, he was stressing too much… Gray heard someone approaching, but didn't react until he heard the click of a lighter.

Gray glanced towards the noise, eyes widening a bit in shock when he saw who was there.

"Need a light?"

"Lyon…." Gray relaxed, letting his old friend light the cigarette with a mumbled thanks, taking a drag off it. "What are you doing here?"

"I just finished a job and was passing through, thought I'd make sure you hadn't gotten yourself killed yet." Lyon leaned against the wall next to Gray.

"Glad to see you have so much faith in me." The Raven hair huffed.

"I have every right to doubt your ability to stay alive." Laughed the white haired mage. Gray chuckled a bit in response, and the pair lapsed into a comfortable silence.

"... You seem stressed." Gray sighed. Lyon was pretty perceptive.

"... One of our guild members is in a pretty bad state, he was attacked on a scouting mission and we have no idea who, or what did it. Only clue is a howling wolf someone carved on the guy's face…."

"A wolf?" Lyon tensed a bit. Gray didn't seem to notice, taking a drag off his cigarette. He was about to reply, when Lyon snatched the cigarette from him, taking a drag. He immediately handed it back, coughing and screwing his face up in disquist.

"I don't see how you can smoke those things." He wheezed Slightly, coughing again. Gray laughed, patting the white haired male on the back.

"It's an acquired thing."

"I think I'll pass on acquiring it." Gray laughed again at how deadpan his fellow ice mage had said that.

He didn't see Lyon's gaze soften, nor the affectionate smile he gave him.

The pair talked for a while, before Lyon had to continue on his way back to Lamia Scale. Lyon left the lighter with Gray, saying he'd just found it on his way into Magnolia. Gray pocketed it, waving goodbye to the snowy haired male as he left. Gray sighed, finishing his cigarette and snuffing it out on the pavement. He started to walk back to the guild, when he stopped, looking up. Soft white flakes drifted down from the sky.

"Huh, first snow came early this year…" He smiled slightly, heading back to the guild in much higher spirits than he'd been in when he left.

Hidden in the shadows, a pair of violet eyes watched the Ice mage as he headed back to the guild.

"Soon, little snowflake, your guild will be mine….."


	4. Wild

WolfsBane. A dark guild that had been inactive for the past ten years. Led by a man named Lycaus Reed, a strange and mysterious man who specialized in Illusion magic. For twelve years they caused havoc and mayhem all throughout Fiore. Then one day, Lycaus vanished, along with the five strongest members of the Guild, His five Shadow Fangs. The rest of the guild disbanded soon after that.

That was what Master Makarov told them the next day. The symbol that had been carved into Freed's face was the Guild Mark of WolfsBane.

The guild muttered amongst themselves, why would an inactive Dark guild come back now? and why attack Freed? Why Freed seemed to be the most common question, and it was Erza that came up with an answer.

"It's possible that Freed was targeted simply because he was alone." The Redhead stated. "After all, We must all admit Freed is not the strongest among us, and with his appearance, he would seem like an easy target."

That seemed to make enough sense. Freed hardly looked like someone who could put up much of a fight. Gray clicked his tongue in annoyance. So Freed was targeted because he looked easy? Laxus was gonna be pissed when he found that out.

Makarov sighed, motioning Erza to follow him. The guild hall was silent for a long time, until Erza came out of Makarov's office. She straightened up, hands on her hips. "Gray, Natsu, Lucy, Gajeel, and Levy, come with me." She called, before heading for the doors.

The five that were called looked at each other curiously, before following, Leaving Jet and Droy's enraged cries about Levy being anywhere with Gajeel without them behind.

"Master Makarov has ordered me to go scout around WolfsBane's old hideout, he told me to bring whoever I wished with me." Erza explained once they were outside. "Master is also going to contact the other Guilds with a warning that WolfsBane may be active again."

"Ummm, Erza? Isn't this kind of a dangerous mission? Why bring me?" Levy asked. "I doubt I'll be much help. Erza smiled.

"WolfsBane had Rune mage's in it, in case there are still any traps or barriers set up, we need someone who can decipher them, and with Freed in the state he's in, You're the only one that can help." Erza crossed her arms. "We'll meet at the train station at noon tomorrow, from there we will decide on the best course or action. Is that clear?" Both Gajeel and Natsu paled at the idea of riding a train, but neither dared argue with Erza.

Not but a few hours later, Lyon Vastia was sent off on a very similar mission, Help Fairy Tail figure out what WolfsBane was up to. He half hoped Gray would be there. He'd gotten scared last time, but the next time they were alone…. Lyon would tell Gray then, no more hiding.

Lyon had a secret as well.


	5. Restless

God Gray wished he could smoke on the train. He still felt that restlessness curling fitfully in the pit of his stomach, a little voice in the back of his mind telling him to run. Run and Run and Run and be free. Gray sighed heavily, contenting himself to observing his guildmates.

Erza had, once again, knocked Natsu out, the pink haired slayer currently draped across her lap while she used him as a table for her plate of strawberry short cake.

Lucy was snoozing peacefully, book forgotten in her lap. Happy was using said book like a blanket, curled up in the blond's lap making content little purring sounds. It was kinda cute. Gray's eyes then drifted to the last pair… well, there was a shocker..

Levy was reading, no surprise there. What was surprising was the fact the Gajeel was laying on his side, facing towards the seat, with his head resting in the petite girl's lap as she gently combed her fingers through his hair. Pantherlily was barely visible, pressed against Gajeel's chest as the pair snoozed.

Gray laughed slightly. "Wonder if that trick'd work on the pyro here." He said, motioning to Levy's actions with Gajeel. Erza glanced up from her cake, and couldn't help the soft smile that crossed her face.

"Perhaps, though Lucy would be better suited for such actions than I." She went back to her cake. Erza watched gray carefully though, and after she'd finished her little treat, she met his gaze firmly. "Gray, are you alright, you've seemed on edge lately. And you're smoke breaks have increased as well."

Well shit, Erza noticed… Duh, of course she did, nothing got past Erza. Gray let out another heavy sigh. "It's nothing just…. I feel, restless."

"Restless? How so?"

"Like… Like I'm a caged animal, and all I want to do is get out and just, run…. I dunno. It's like, some itch, right under my skin…" Gray looked out the window. "Probably doesn't make any sense…"

"Perhaps this mission will be good for you then, a chance to get out and do something, a distraction."

"I hope you're right." Gray sighed.

The rest of the train ride was rather uneventful. They managed not to forget Natsu on the train, and Erza woke Happy and Lucy up while they were getting off, letting Levy deal with Gajeel. The small mage dealt with him by gently shaking him awake and letting him know the train had stopped. Everyone pretended not to notice Gajeel's cheeks turn pink when he realized he'd used Levy as a pillow the whole way.

Gray lit a cigarette as soon as they were off the train, ignoring Lucy's disapproving glance. He was starting to feel crowded, caged in, he needed to run soon…. Gray was pulled from his thoughts By Lucy, as her heard her call out Lyon's name. He looked up. Lyon? Sure enough, Lyon stood no more than a foot in front of them, looking as smug as ever.

"Hey, It's been awhile." Lyon said, Approaching the group. "I was sent here to give you a hand in figuring out what's going on."

"The help is appreciated." Erza replied. She caught the look Lyon shot Gray, he looked relieved his fellow Ice mage was there. She cleared her throat, deciding the first course of action should be to find lodging, as it was already getting late.

Gray could feel Lyon's eyes on him, and he glanced at the elder male. His heart raced in his chest when he caught a brief flash of adoration ing Lyon's eyes, before the pale haired man looked away. Gray could have pouted, but Gray Fullbuster did NOT pout. He stuffed a hand in his pocket, taking a long drag off his cigarette, blowing out the smoke with a sigh.

Erza glanced at Gray, not that she'd say out loud, but she was worried about him. In short, Gray was a mess, it was obvious he hadn't had a proper night's sleep for a few days, he was smoking more, and he just seemed, on edge. She tried to think of a way she could help the raven haired man, and after a moment, she made a rather reluctant descision.

Once The group had checked into a hotel and eaten, Erza approached Natsu and Gray, clearing her throat to get their attention.

"There is an empty field on the outskirts of this town, just for tonight, you two can go there and brawl all you want, you both look like you need to let off some steam."

"...Huh?"

"Erza, you feelin' okay?"

"Just go before I change my mind!"

"Yes ma'am!" The pair rushed off, barely down the hall before they started hurling insults at each other.

Lucy stared wide eyed at Erza. She was letting them go fight?

"Erza... What's that about, you never let them fight..." The blond looked at her friend, a bit worried. Erza sighed heavily, sitting down.

"Gray's been on edge and tense lately, and he has obviously been having trobule sleeping. At the very least, a chance to blow off some steam may relax him enough that he can get some rest. If he continues like this it could compromise the mission.

So that's what it was... Lucy smiled. "I've been worried about him too, something's bothering him..." She sighed. "Oh well, If I've learned anything about Gray it's that we just need to wait until he's ready to talk to us."

Erza nodded. She sighed again. "I'm going to take a bath, Gray's stress seems to be rubbing off on me." She said, heading towards the bathroom. "

"Alright..." Once Erza was in the bathroom, Lucy was alone in the room. Lyon was in a different room, and Levy had dragged Gajeel off to the town's large library. She sighed, drawing her knees up to her chest. She really was worried about Gray. He was her friend after all, and he was just acting so, un-Gray-like. She went towards on of the beds in the room, flopping onto it with a groan. what should she do?

She didn't register the sudden appearance of one of her celestial spirits in the room until the mattess shifted as Loke sat near Lucy. No words were echanged between the two, Lucy simply shifting to snuggle into Loke's comforting embrace, letting the Lion spirit hold her close and stroke her hair.

"... I'm scared for Gray Loke... He's acting so weird..."

"He can take care of himself Lucy... If something's bothering him, He'll talk about when he's ready."

"I know... But-"

"Shhh, no but's, just relax." Lucy huffed, but pressed her face against his chest. Loke was warm... and he smelled nice... She soon found herself drifting off to sleep.

Erza didn't comment on Loke's presence when she got out of her bath, simply changing for bed. Nor did she comment when Natsu and Gray returned and Natsu joined the pair on the bed.

"You smell like sweat." Loke huffed when Natsu joined them.

"You smell like cat."

"I'm a lion, no shit I smell like cat."

"Shhhhh, Lucy's sleeping."

Loke shoved Natsu off the bed.

It wasn't Erza's place to say anything about the odd relationship the three had, she simply watched Natsu climb into bed again, laying next to Lucy and Loke. And if Loke ended up Hugging the dragon slayer close as well... well, it really wasn't her business.

((AN: Can't decide between NaLu and LuKe? NaLuKe is the way to go!  
>Also, just as a note this chapter marks a switch to slightly longer chapters than before. Because of this my Update speed may slow down a bit. Rest assured I'll try to get out at least a chapter a day, but I would like to produce chapters of more quality than quantity. I hope you'll all be patient with me!))<p> 


	6. Heart

Lyon, luckily for Gray, was still up, and looked like he'd just taken a shower himself when he answered the knock at the door.

"Well don't you look lovely." Lyon smirked at the sight of Gray. Gray was dirty, scrapes and cuts littering his body from his and Natsu's fight. "Did you get attacked by a wild animal or something?"

"Or something, can I use your shower, Erza just went to bed and I'd rather not wake her up. I like living."

Lyon laughed, letting him into the room. "Surely she's not that bad." The look Gray gave him was enough to let him know that yes, she was that bad. Gray headed into the bathroom to take a shower.

Lyon went to sit on the bed, reading over the, albeit limited, information Ooba had given him on WolfsBane. Even when they were active, the guild was shrouded in mystery, Not even the members of the Magic Council knew much about them. The members were mainly mages who specialized in Rune and Illusion magic. Lyon sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought, with so little to go on….

The ice mage was distracted by the sound of the shower shutting off and Gray exiting the bathroom. He had to fight back a blush at the sight of his former kohai.

Gray's black hair was pushed back out of his eyes, water droplets still clinging to his skin, catching the light from the single lit lamp in the room. Lyon forced himself to look away, he shouldn't be having those kinds of thoughts about Gray, They were practically like brothers… Yet there was something about Gray that drew him to the younger male…

Gray failed to notice Lyon's eyes on him as he dried off, back turned to the older male. He'd pulled his pants back on, shirt slung over his shoulder. "Why'd you decide to get a single room anyway? It'd be cheaper to share."

"True, but…" Lyon sighed. "To be completely honest, I feel as if your friends still don't quite trust me, after all, I didn't prove myself to be very, nice, back on Galuna Island."

"Galuna…? Lyon, that was seven years ago, you're still beating yourself up over that?"

Lyon didn't reply. Gray sighed heavily, moving over to the bed and lightly punching Lyon's head.

"Dumbass, no one's angry about that. Even someone as dense as Natsu understood what you were trying to do. And it WAS years ago." He said. "Besides, even if they were still pissed off at you, You could've asked me to split a room. It's better than listening to flame-brain snoring and talking in his sleep all night."

Lyon laughed slightly. "Well, you can stay here for the night if you'd like, it isn't like we haven't slept in the same bed before."

Gray's cheeks warmed slightly. It was fine when they were kids but.. He wasn't gonna lie, Lyon was gorgeous, but Gray refused to get a crush on him. They were like brothers dammit!

"Yeah, I guess… May as well, I'm already here anyway." Gray sat on the bed, sighing. He moved to lay back against the pillows, string up at the ceiling. The fight with Natsu had helped, but he still felt, off. He'd try and find time to go for a run later… Maybe he'd sneak out after Lyon went to sleep.

Lyon, meanwhile, was conflicted. He wanted to tell Gray… but he could feel himself chickening out again. He wasn't afraid of how Gray would react, yet he was still afraid of, something. He couldn't explain what it was. Maybe he was just a coward…. He glanced at Gray, who was still simply reclining on the bed with his arms folded behind his head.

Lyon found his eyes drawn to the scar on Gray's forehead, and his heart dropped. He'd caused that scar…

Gray opened an eye, catching Lyon's gaze, and he shifted to sit up, Flicking Lyon's forehead. "Cut it out."

"Cut what out?

"That, moping, broody thing."

"Gray…." Lyon looked down. "You wouldn't have that scar if I hadn't been…"

"An asshole? True, but if you haven't noticed, I gotta lot of scars." Gray said. "It's not a big deal."

"But-"

"No. I'm not puttin up with this self hating bullshit, I think you and I have both done enough of it."

After a moment, Lyon smiled. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"S'alright." Gray lay back down. "Go to sleep already, It's late."

"Right…." Lyon switched off the lamp. "Good night Gray…"

"Night."


	7. Author's Note

((Hey guys! I want to apologize for the wait! This next chapter is giving me a lot of problems x.x  
>Please try to be patient with me! I'll update as soon as I can!))<p> 


	8. Update

((Hey Again everyone! Unfortunately, The Dark Inside is going on a bit of a hiatus. My poor old laptop is on it's last legs, and until I get a new one I'm going to be unable to finish the next chapter. I am so sorry for the delay. I promise I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can!))


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